‘Replace Ofwat with water industry regulator with real teeth’ South Cambridgeshire MP Pippa Heylings tells government

The MP for South Cambridgeshire has called for the water regulator Ofwat to be replaced by a “new regulator with real teeth”.

Liberal Democrat Pippa Heylings was responding to the government announcement that an Independent Water Commission would deliver the biggest review of the industry since privatisation.

Ms Heylings said: “One of the key issues that residents are horrified by in South Cambridgeshire is the dumping of raw sewage into our treasured chalk streams such as the Rivers Mel, Rhee, Shep and Granta.

“I have long campaigned on this issue - I raised setting up a new regulator which has the power to rein in the water companies on Politics Live in my very first week as an MP and then voted for it along with my Lib Dem colleagues.

“The Liberal Democrats have been advocating for this for a long time, and this Commission is a good development, but we need far more urgency from the government if we are to stop Anglian Water from polluting our community with foul sewage.

"Whilst a review of the industry is welcome, it should not be used as a tool to kick the can down the road on immediate reforms.

"Even before this Commission begins, the government should be getting on with introducing a new regulator with real teeth and power to get hold of these profiteering firms.

"Sadly, the government's approach is still a job half done.

“It is time to put an end to profit before the environment in the water industry, and end this national scandal.”

Following a public outcry over bills, bonuses and sewage pollution, Labour’s environment secretary Steve Reed said the new commission, chaired by the former deputy governor of the Bank of England, Sir Jon Cunliffe, will focus on the water sector and its regulation. It will have no limits in the scope of its potential recommendations, including wholesale reform of Ofwat and how it interacts with other watchdogs such as the Environment Agency.

But he ruled out bringing the companies back into public ownership, saying that nationalising water firms would cost up to £100billion and “not resolve the problems” faced by customers, according to the Environment Secretary.

The Cambridge Independent reported recently how Anglian Water must pay a £38.1million penalty next year after being given the lowest ranking in a damning report from regulator Ofwat. It was criticised for the number of incidents of pollution, failing to reach targets over reducing leaks and for the number of interruptions to water supplies.

And Cambridge Water was the only water-only provider in the country rated as poor for both total complaints and its handling of them in a report by the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), which said it had seen a 77 per cent increase in the number of complaints it had received about the company.